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JUST OVER a year-and-a-half before the land subsidence in Joshimath, similar cracks in houses and roads were reported by residents in Raini village, about 22 kilometres from Joshimath town, in June-July 2021.
The state government had appointed a team of geologists from the Uttarakhand Disaster Recovery Initiative to survey the village. The team, in its report submitted to the state government, had recommended evacuation, saying the village was vulnerable and required “slope stabilisation’’.
“The Raini village is facing serious slope stability problems where whole habituated area is affected by active subsidence whereas downslope is affected by toe erosion. During investigation, wide cracks were observed in the walls and floors of many houses, indicating active slope movement in the area. It is therefore advisable to rehabilitate the Raini village to an alternate safe location,’’ said the report.
When contacted, Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana said while the government had taken cognizance of the recommendations of the report, there has not been any relocation or rehabilitation so far. “We are looking for alternative land where the village can be relocated, but haven’t been able to find anything appropriate. We have also offered an option to the villagers of Raini, that if they have land elsewhere, they can relocate there… One of the major challenges that we are facing is the availability of land for rehabilitation,” he said.
Raini is located on the river banks, at the confluence of the Rishiganga and Dhauliganga rivers, on the Joshimath-Malari Road in Chamoli district. A few months before the cracks were reported, the village was hit by a flash flood which damaged the Rishiganga dam and power plant.
The team of geologists found that the flood caused severe damage at the foothills of Raini village, leading to 5-10 cm wide cracks on roads as well as structures in the village.
“The sudden rise of flood comprises colluvium with high flow intensity… (it) caused to disturb slope face area and slope forming strata… Some noticeable damage to residential structures on top of the slope and also some slip zones were identified where tensional cracks and erosion took place… During the field visit, it was observed that the slope forming material is highly saturated due to incessant rainfall. The soil/ debris material loses its strength when the slope forming material gets saturated. As a result, there are many slip areas observed in the village from toe to uphill of the slope. In addition to this, soil erosion was also observed along the localised water channels,’’ said the report.
The survey found that like in the case of Joshimath, Raini village was located on old landslide debris material. Both Chamoli and Bageshwar districts in Uttarakhand recorded excess rainfall in June 2021, which could have been one of the triggers.
The report warned against “hill-slope cutting” for road construction and recommended proper implementation of “drainage provisions’’ to divert “surface runoff” during the rainy season.
Speaking to The Indian Express, B Venkateshwarlu, a geotechnical expert with the Uttarakhand Disaster Recovery Initiative said: “The flash flood caused tremendous pressure on the land, which was already vulnerable as it was built on loose soil. At the time of our survey, the villagers whose houses had been affected had been rehabilitated. But in a state like Uttarakhand, it is difficult to say which areas are likely to be more impacted by a natural disaster. An area which may seem stable today, may become extremely vulnerable tomorrow.”
“Mountains of Uttarakhand are ecologically very fragile. On top of that, deforestation, rapid urbanisation and ever-increasing construction work has made the situation worse. The state is already vulnerable to natural disasters and the slightest impact of climate change or global warming can result in mass destruction. We have already started witnessing the impact of climate change in terms of extreme weather events like cloudburst, flash flood, landslides, or glacial outburst. If the rise in global temperatures remains unchecked, we will see an increase in monsoon rainfall… a rise in extreme weather events, which can be very dangerous for the hilly states,’’ said G P Sharma, president, Meteorology and Climate Change, at Skymet Weather.
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